Best Grandma Lus Italian Easter Bread Recipes

GRANDMA'S EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Combine 5 cups flour, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, Romano cheese, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl; stir well and set aside.
• Stir warm water and yeast together in a small bowl. Set aside until dissolved and bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Zest and juice orange into a large bowl. Stir in melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in yeast mixture. Add flour mixture gradually, stirring as you go.
• Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, adding up to 1 extra cup of flour as needed to keep dough manageable. Transfer to an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise until almost doubled in size, about 30 to 60 minutes.
• Punch dough down, cover and let rise again until almost doubled in size, 30 to 60 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease two 8-inch round loaf pans.
• Cut dough into 2 equal pieces and shape into loaves. Place in the prepared pans, cover, and let rise again until almost doubled in size, 30 to 60 minutes.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cook on a wire rack.

EASY ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a large saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter to 120°-130°. Add dry ingredients; beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add eggs; mix well. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in fruit, almonds and aniseed until blended. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into a 24-in. rope. Loosely twist ropes together; place on a greased baking sheet and form into a ring. Pinch ends together. Melt remaining butter; brush over dough. Gently separate ropes and tuck dyed eggs into openings. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes., Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. For glaze, in a bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency; drizzle over bread. Sprinkle with candies if desired.

GRANDMA NARDI'S ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Place 3 eggs in a single layer in a small saucepan; add enough cold water to cover by 1 in. Cover and quickly bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Let stand 15 minutes., Rinse eggs in cold water and place in ice water until completely cooled. Drain; dye hard-boiled eggs with food coloring, following package directions. Let stand until completely dry., In bread machine pan, place the first 7 bread ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting. Check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1-2 tablespoons additional milk or flour if needed., When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Punch down dough; divide into thirds. Roll each into a 15-in. rope. Place ropes on a greased baking sheet and braid. Shape into a ring. Pinch ends to seal. Lightly coat dyed eggs with oil; arrange on braid, tucking them carefully between ropes. For egg wash, whisk egg with water. Brush over dough; sprinkle with sesame seeds., Cover with a kitchen towel; let rise in a warm place until almost doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°., Bake until golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pan to a wire rack to cool. Refrigerate leftovers.

GRANDMA LU'S ITALIAN EASTER BREAD

Steps:

• Soak orange and lemon rinds with the whisky in a glass jar with lid (or airtight container) and refrigerate the night before preparing bread.
• To prepare bread: Add yeast into 3/4 cup of warm water, and let stand several minutes until foamy. Melt shortening in large pot over low heat. Turn off heat, and add to shortening, stirring in with wooden spoon, sugar, yeast, eggs and orange extract. Then, mix in flour, salt and orange/lemon mixture, kneading together in pot until dough pulls away from sides and forms a ball. Remove from pot, and continue to knead on floured surface until dough is elastic, if too sticky, add additional flour until right consistency. Transfer dough back to pot and cover with kitchen towels and store in a warm place at least 5 hours or overnight until dough doubles in size.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a large bundt pan with baking spray. Remove dough from pot, and knead slightly on floured surface. Transfer to prepared pan, and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until golden brown, and when toothpick inserted, comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, and cool in pan about 20 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Using a hand mixer, beat egg whites with 1/4 cup sugar until peaks form. Spread on top of bread and garnish with colored sprinkles.